adams



(No Model.)

A. ADAMS. APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF DRY WALLS.

No. 428,327. Patented May 20, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELMON A. ADAMS, OF IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRED. WV. EVANS, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF DRY WALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,327, dated May 20, 1890.

Application filed October 25, 1887. Serial No. 253,314. (No model.) i

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMON A. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Use in the Construction of Dry Walls, of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description of the same as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of one form of wall in the construction of which my follower can be advantageously used. Fig. 2 is a view of my follower to be used in the construction of dry walls. Fig. 3 is another view of the follower provided with a brush or scraper.

In Fig. 1 is shown one form of dry wall in the construction of which my follower can be advantageously used. A detailed description of this wall is not given further than that the bricks C and E are of such shape that when the wall is built openings or holes, as B, are formed in it.

Referring now to Fig. 2,G represents a follower which is designed to be used during the process of construction of the wall, and this follower is made of such shape as to practically fill the opening D through the wall, as shown in Fig. 1. This follower maybe made of wood, cork, or of any light material, or it may be made of tin or any kind of sheet metal. If made of wood or any light fibrous material, it may or may not be made hollow. The lower end of the follower is provided with a spring H, which is secured to the bottom of the follower in any suitable mannersuch,'

for instance, as using a screw or a stapleto hold it securely to the follower. The upper end of the follower G is provided with a suitble handle J, the use of which is to enable the operator to pull the follower up as the wall is built.

In practice the follower will have to be a trifle smaller than the opening B in the wall, and in some instances it may be found desirable to secure to the outside of the follower a brush of some kind, or to provide the follower in some way with an elastic or yielding surface, and to that end I may provide a strip K, which may be made of Brussels carpet or any kind of yielding fibrous material, or I may use a series of brushes, all of which or either one of which would be useful in this connection.

In the construction of dry walls which are provided with an opening or ventilating-flue some difficulty has been experienced by the mortar running out through the crevices between the bricks and partially filling up or disfiguring the sides of the opening, as B, through the wall. hen it is desired to use these openings through the walls for the accommodation of electrical conductors, these obstructions may be found to be a great source of annoyance, and it is to obviate this disadvantage that I construct and design to use the follower G. By constructing the follower of the approximate size and shape of the opening through the wall and lifting it along up through the opening B in the wall as the wall is being constructed and before the mortar has become entirely solidified I find that a clear opening will be left through the wall. In order to secure a more complete finish to the inside walls of this opening, I provide the follower with the brushes or fibrous material K, as above described. In order to prevent the follower from accidentally slipping down through the opening in the wall where it could not be reached, I provide it with a spring, as above described.

Having now described the objects, uses, and advantage of my device, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent, and what I therefore claim, is

1. A follower for use in the construction of dry walls provided with openings or air-chainber, said follower having a spring affixed to its lower end for holding it in place in said opening in the wall. t

2. A follower for use in the construction of dry walls having an opening, said follower being provided with a spring attached to the lower end for holdingit in place in said opening in the wall, and also with a fibrous or brushy substance for cleaning the sides of the opening,substantially as shown and described.

3. A follower for use in the construction of In testimonywhereof I affix my signature in dry Walls which are formed with an opening, the presence of two witnesses. said follower having a spring attached to its lower end and extending beyond its sides for ELMON A. ADAMS. 5 holding it in place in said opening, and also Witnesses:

with a brush or fibrous scraper, all substan- WM. J. ROUNTREE,

tially as shown, and for the purpose set forth. CHARLES E. BARBER. 

